United, that corporations and labor unions could effectively spend unlimited funds on direct advocacy for or against candidates. The result has been massive increases in the amount of money being spent by outside groups. Consider the spending in the 2024
election: the Democratic campaign and pro-Democratic outside groups spent almost $1.8 billion, while the Trump campaign and pro-Republican outside groups spent $1.4 billion. If down ballot and other initiatives are added, the total bill for ad spending in the 2024 election hit almost $11 billion, a new record and a substantial increase from the $9 billion spent in 2020.10
A serious concern remains over the amount money being spent by individuals who wish to have influence over the election, individuals who have a lot to gain from a close relationship with the winning party. You need look no further than Elon Musk’s more than $250 million contribution to the Trump campaign, which Trump acknowledges significantly helped him win.11 But Musk was not the only one. A study by Open Secrets found 44 percent of “all the money raised to support Trump came from just 10 individual megadonors.12 Consequently, the study concluded “top donors had outsize influence.”13
More and more money being pumped into the political system to advance political agendas is, without adequate disclosure, a recipe for disaster — particularly, when considering the future viability of an open and democratic society. But with both Democrats and Republicans benefitting from the U.S. Supreme Court ruling to the tune of $1,439,489,482 being raised for Donald Trump14 and $1,994,408,972 being raised for Kamala Harris15 in the 2024 presidential election, there is no incentive to reform.
Redistricting
The influence of money in politics extends well beyond the presidential level. More and more monies are being spent down ballot to establish the foundations upon which parties build toward controlling the U.S. House and Senate and ultimately the presidency.
For example, OpenSecrets projects that the combined total for state and federal election spending in the 2023-2024 cycle will exceed $20 billion. About $16 billion of that went to influence federal elections and another $4.6 billion was raised by state candidates, party committees and ballot measure committees for 2023 and 2024 elections.16 Granted, this is how you build parties and come to hold influence: you get people elected, those people work to increase their control and the power of the party. And money insures that.
But a consequence of that interest, these individuals – within both the Democratic and Republican parties – move to protect themselves by designing congressional districts that protect them and the interests of their party. As noted by Sam Hirsch:
Redistricting makes a difficult situation considerably worse. Lawmakers have become more insular and more attentive to their
Recognizing that Trump won the election according to the Constitution and laws of and within the United States is one thing: agreeing that he received a mandate to do as he wishes is an entirely different matter.
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